A Warm Embrace

As Isabella stepped into the elevator of her company’s building, she adjusted the huge sunglasses covering more than half of her face.

After literally crying all night, her eyes surrounded by dark circles were swollen, a clear sign of her lack of sleep.

Isabella was still trying to get over Gerald’s response last night after she asked him to choose between his family and an outsider.

“I’m sorry, I can’t give you an answer now,” was what he had responded with.

The nerves!

Her husband had answered her without thinking twice, and that made her begin to rethink their entire relationship.

Isabella and Gerald’s union was not an arranged meeting, so how could a man who loved her for so long suddenly have a change of heart?

She could remember all those years he told her that she was perfect for him. What happened now? Did he lose that part of his memory?

Well, Gerald did not suddenly stop loving her. This was something that happened over time and she had failed to notice it still, she was overwhelmed.

Isabella sniffed and used the back of her mind to dab the small tears at the corner of her eyes before stepping out of the elevator.

As soon as she walked into the workspace, all eyes struck on her.

Isabella was fifteen minutes earlier and normally, everywhere was supposed to be bustling with employees trying to catch up with each other after the weekend, but the sudden silence that hit her was proof that she had been their subject of ridicule.

Now, everyone knew that she could not keep her husband.

Though frustrated, Isabella did not have the luxury time of being embarrassed since her husband disgraced her publicly. She kept her gaze straight and her steps quick and steady while occasionally responding to their greetings till she made it to her office.

It was only then that she proceeded to take off the sunshades revealing her red eyes. The thin strings of red arteries in her eyes made her look hideous like a vampire starved of blood.

Isabella had not even had a proper five minutes to herself when someone knocked on her door. Before she could finish lifting her head, the person at the door pushed it open and peeped.

“Bella, Richard is asking for you.”

Isabella sniffed and wiped her tears. “Where is he?”

“In his office,” the young lady with blonde hair, Miriam replied while trying hard to keep her concern out of the way.

“Give me a minute,” Isabella demanded. Finally, when she was left alone, she picked up a mirror from her bag and redid the makeup around her eyes.

When she was able to perfectly hide the streaks of tear line, she got up and left her office, heading to Richards’.

Richard Cooper was Isabella’s direct boss in the multi-million-dollar investment company she worked in. Her boss was very strict and had a rare soft side which he only showed when an investment was reaping good profit.

For him to have called her into his office this early Monday morning, it must be something important.

Arriving in front of his office, she knocked once before letting herself in. “Good morning, Mr. Cooper. You asked to see me.”

Behind the brown oak rectangular work desk, Richard lifted his head, skipping the greeting.

“I heard what happened. I can give you seven working days off if you need some time off from work,” he said to her with a line forming on his forehead.

Richard had striking facial features that made him stand out. He was so handsome that women would be tripping at his feet if he did so little as to spare them a glance.

But his handsomeness did not move Isabella probably because she only had eyes for her husband who equally had striking facial features, and because she only saw Richard as her boss and nothing else.

Isabella shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m fine.” Great! The rumours have even spread to her boss’s ears.

Richard stared at her for a while with a disturbed look before asking, “What about your daughter?” He didn’t believe any word she said.

“She is still on her holiday break at my parent’s place,” Isabella replied. She wasn’t surprised that her boss would care about her private matters since he should be worried that it would slow her work productivity and in return affect his business.

Richard did not speak immediately. His gaze was full of concern. His lips moved a few times as he had other questions for her, but understanding that she might not be in the mood to respond to him even if he was her boss, he let her be.

“If you insist that you are fine, let’s talk about this particular investment I suddenly want to pull out from.” Richard straightened his back and pointed to his computer screen.

Isabella spent half an hour in Richard’s office before returning to her own where she spent a lot of time spacing out instead of working.

During the lunch break, Isabella was missing from her desk. When everyone thought that she had probably gone to the break room to eat and chill, Richard was not settled seeing her desk empty after he came out of his office, so he went looking for her by himself.

First, he went to the breakroom before going to the lady’s room. He had to ask a female staff to check if Isabella was there, but when he got negative feedback, he left that space.

‘Where could she have gone to?’ He thought worriedly to himself.

Richard actually thought of calling, but knowing that she would lie over the phone, he put his phone away and continued to search for her.

At last, he asked himself a question. ‘Where can one go to hide away and cry?’ as soon as he got the answer to that question, he went to the stairway and there, he found the woman sitting on a step with her face buried in her thighs as her muffled cries filled the place.

Richard released a deep sigh and stuffed his hands inside his pants pocket. He stood there silently and watched her cry for a while before walking over to sit next to her.

Without a word, he put his arm around her shoulder and brought her into his arms. Letting her head rest on his chest, he started to pat her arm rhythmically and let her bawl her eyes out without worrying about his shirt.